“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy which so powerfully works in me.”
Col. 1:28-29
There is a new and persuasive argument on ministry philosophy these days and it goes like this:
“Growing up, how many sermons do you really remember? Probably very few. But how many people and their relationships that influenced you do you remember? Probably a lot. So what do you think is more important, preaching or relationships?”
This is what you would call not just a lead question, but a bad case of logic. First of all, this question is setting you up to agree that relationships are the most important thing. Who is going to argue with that? But secondly, it is pitting relationships against preaching, as if you have to choose one or the other. With Christ everything is important!
But the biggest problem with this question, is it fails to address just how important preaching, public speaking and the tool that speech is to your ministry. . . a pastor is a herald, a representative of Christ, so it really is everything. Just look at a couple of verses and tell me how important preaching is:
Jeremiah 1:9-10 – _________________________
Malachi 2:7-9 – __________________________
Acts 2:37- _______________________________
Col 1:28-29 –_____________________________
INCARNATIONAL
What is the incarnation? (see John 1:1 & 17) ___________________________________________
“IN the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . . The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Preaching is the ‘word of God” coming through the preacher’s flesh: his life, his attitudes, his actions. How does this happen.
FIRST STEP: Know the Word so it speaks and not you!
Do you know the difference between “eisegesis” and “exegesis?” It is crucial to preaching: Eisegesis is when your opinion is above scripture, and exegesis is when scripture is above your opinion. The Power in Preaching comes through the truth that God wants communicated (exegesis), not through the opinions you want to espouse (eisegesis). Truth, in this case, is “THAT WHICH CORRESPONDS TO THE WAY THINGS REALLY ARE.” Only the word of God is true truth.
Opinions are often slanted, ignorant, blind, selfish and impure. God’s truth is just the opposite: James 3:13-18_______ So before a man preaches, the text must rule over his mind rather than him ruling over the text. “But Chris, how do you do this purely?”
– INTEGRITY: hermeneutical research must be done, and done well.
– SINCERITY: only preach what you personally
believe to be true; not what you are supposed to say.
– HUMILITY: if you are trying to impress or you are
not sold on your conclusions, don’t preach it.
STEP TWO: Know your Heart so it makes the word real!
You are living in a real world, you have real fears, questions and concerns – allow the text to address them. Make sure each sermon answers many of these questions:
1. What bothers me about the text, be honest and tell the congregation?
2. What excites me about the text?
3. What cultural myth is this destroying?
4. What cultural sin is it confronting?
5. How does this change my perspective of God?
People need to hear how you view these things, if they don’t, the text will hang limp, and they will not experience incarnational truth.
THIRD STEP: Plead with God to anoint your words!
D. L. Moody said there were times in his ministry when the Spirit of God took over his words. That is what I am talking about. There will be times when you know you are watching God work. How does it happen?
* Pray his Promises: God responds to his promises. Here are some of the promises that God gives.
* Boldness: Ephesians 6:19
* Clarity: Colossians 4:2-4
* Conviction: Acts 2:37
* Understanding: Philippians 1:9-11
* Love for God: Ephesians 3:16-21
Charles Spurgeon has said, “The only thing that gives me courage to preach week after week is that I say to myself before I preach, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the Holy Spirit.'”
DEAD MEN
Dr. Erwin Lutzer would bring his preaching class to a graveyard and he would tell them to stand over the grave and start preaching. He said, “This is what you are doing every Sunday. Eloquence won’t raise the dead, brilliance won’t raise the dead, argument won’t raise the dead. Only the life-giving word, excited by the Spirit of God and communicated through a pure vessel will see blind eyes opened and deaf ear loosed. So never forget…
YOU ARE PREACHING TO THE DEAD & HIS WORD IS THE ONLY THING THAT HAS THE POWER TO RAISE THEM UP!
